The Day Before You Came
by GillyRoc
Summary: Emma and Regina met on Emma's 28th birthday. At least that's what they remember. SwanQueen.


**(very long) ****A/N**** (which you can totally skip because it's mainly me ranting)**

**I started writing this as a birthday gift a year ago, and now it's finally finished! I should wish you a happy belated birthday, but it's technically not belated since here we are again! So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Many happy returns and congrats on this new stage!**

**This is set around S03E09's flashbacks ("Save Henry", aka, the cutest episode ever, because it's Regina. With a baby. Need I say more? And let's accept it, baby Henry is the best Henry).**

**So basically it's like our ladies first encounter, a long time ago. Just so you're warned, it's not a happy or fluffy story.**

**This is a one shot, and since I know you will ask, I don't think there'll be a sequel. Mainly because I have no idea what to do about the disaster that the show has now become.**

**Aside from that super gay scene where Elsa tells Emma to accept herself as she is -meaning super gay- and then make rainbow magic together, and then make out and become a couple because Regina is too busy being reduce to a secondary character (that was a deleted scene, which is why we didn't get to see it, but that's what happened, people! *nods*), and episode 5 (in which we learn that Regina is Emma's type ever since she was a teen baby gay and fell in love with Lily, which could perfectly pass as Regina's mini-me, aka The Gayest Episode in the History of Gay Episodes), this is the most anti-Regina, anti-gay and anti-everything-I-stand-for OUaT season. I may have used the word gay way too many times. I don't care.**

**I hate what they've done with Regina and I hate what they're doing with the story, but I most of all hate how they're shoving Robin Hood down our throats. I am a huge SQ fan (obviously), but I have no real expectation for it to ever become canon. What I do expect, though, is a little respect from the writers, both to their audience and to the characters they created.**

**I mean, let's face it, SQ will never be, but did they really had to pair Regina with the weakest, feeblest character of all? At least Hook is funny sometimes, but I just can't stand Hood. And on top of it all, as I read in a recap, making Regina an accomplice in the cheating on the wife he no longer loves... I mean, grow a pair and do the right thing, isn't that what they've been saying since episode one? That's what good people do! The right thing!**

**So I'm gonna stop ranting now, because I may never end. I think Regina is one if the greatest characters created on TV and this show is definitely not doing her justice by turning her into the meek, sidekick she has ben reduced to. And in all honestly, I'm not keeping track on the plot (if it can even be called that), I more like kinda watch the episode for the #queerytales tweets, now those are fun! And for Anna because she totally rocks.**

**Also, if you want to rant in the comments, feel free to do so, I WANT TO FEEL YOUR RAGE!**

**And this A/N is almost as long as the fic, so on with the story...**

**Title stolen from Abba, because I heart them.**

**And gigantic a thanks to Journalism13 for the beta!**

* * *

><p>Oh yes, I'm sure my life was well within its usual frame<p>

The day before you came

ABBA

* * *

><p>"Sidney, I need something else from you," Regina informed his lackey over the phone. "I need you to locate me Henry's birth mother."<p>

"But I just sent you the infor—"

"I need you to find her. Tell me her exact location," she clarified, annoyance manifesting in her voice.

"Mada—"

"Now, Sidney." Really, wasn't she clear enough?

"I already have that information, Madam Mayor."

"And why didn't you give it to me before?"

"Because I don't think you're going to like it."

"Good thing I don't pay you to think, then."

"Her name is Emma Swan. She..." He halted, feeling the annoying need to make a pause for effect. Regina could feel her impatience building up.

"Sidney."

"Well, Madam Mayor, it appears she's in prison."

"What?"

"She's in a minimum security prison in..." but the rest of Sidney's information disappeared in the air as she dropped to the floor and clutched her stomach with her hands, phone unrecalled, trying to gasp for air. The burst of hysterical laughter echoed through the space of Regina's office, filling it as fulfillment of a long forgotten revenge, and euphoria filled her every cell as tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks.

Snow White's daughter is a delinquent, she thought. This couldn't have been more perfect if she planned it herself.

Although... Although, she remembered a prophecy made long before and, just as it had come, the laughter died in her throat.

* * *

><p>After days of pondering and scheming, and several conversations—more like soul-selling deals, she thought—with the purveyor of all things questionable, Regina was ready to go. She had a plan and she had a destination; she also had fake papers that accredited her as a licensed therapist in Arizona. Very handy when the prison's psychologist fell mysteriously ill, and Regina got called to cover the absence while she recovered.<p>

Yes; he never failed to deliver.

"Oh, and don't forget, Madam Mayor, you only have a week," he told the woman as he internally rubbed his hands together and congratulated himself for yet another perfectly fulfilled plan.

And of course, how could Gold not help her. He needed to ensure Regina would keep the royals' daughter's offspring and to witness what said daughter had been reduced to as collateral of her curse; he needed her to realize that getting Snow White's grandson was nothing but her perfectly tailored happy ending, built at her worst enemy's expense.

Yes, everything was working according to his plan. Regina raising Snow's grandson as her own was her ultimate revenge and she would not walk away from it if he could help it. And with Emma out of the way, at least for the moment, Regina would create the perfect environment for the curse to break. He just had to be patient and wait for his peons to play the game for him.

"No matter; that's time enough."

How many days did she need to take down a pathetic little scoundrel?

This Emma Swan was no match for her, of that she was sure.

* * *

><p>After the nightmare she had to endure to get to Phoenix, she finally arrived to her hotel room, equipped like she's never before seen outside her TV. The place had two spaces; one living room with a large, white sofa taking most of the space that blended with the rest of the light decor of the room. The bedroom had a bed almost as big as her own back in Storybrooke. She'd made sure she'd have a cradle next to it for her son to sleep for the few days they would be staying there.<p>

The nanny would be there soon.

She hated leaving his baby with a stranger after being with him every hour of every day for the past weeks, but the woman had excellent recommendations —all thoroughly checked by Regina herself—and it was, after all, for his own good, and only for a short while. She had to put him first; this was their happy ending, not just hers.

It needed to be done.

* * *

><p>Walking inside the women's prison camp of the Federal Correctional Institution was an experience Regina would not soon forget. Even though the place was at it cleanest, it was old and decaying, but more than the physical facilities, the place had an air of desperation and hopelessness that almost made her retrace her steps, get out of there, grab Henry, and return to Storybrooke.<p>

Almost.

But Regina was nothing if not a driven woman, and nothing would come between her and the definitive demise of Snow White. And her daughter's by proxy. She walked straight to the administrative building where they were waiting for her with a guard to guide the way and a schedule of appointments for her to follow.

Once in her office, Regina looked at it as she fanned herself with her hand, not really used to Phoenix's warm weather. She already knew women who had just given birth had mandatory sessions with the therapist, which was why Gold had purveyed her with such an undignified job, and not something more akin to her abilities and status like a lawyer, or just anything else, really. She sighed. All she had to do was wait until 4 pm for the infamous teen to arrive.

For the next hours she heard sob stories and claims of indisputable innocence and false imprisonment, all of them boring her to no end, as she eyed her watch impatiently, waiting for lunch break to arrive quickly.

When it finally came, one glance at the communal dining room and Regina's vile climbing up her esophagus convinced her that eating there would be a very bad idea. She'd have to bring her own lunch from now on if she wanted to survive the week.

Back at the office, back at glancing her watch and back at the sob stories, 4 pm couldn't get there soon enough. And finally, just as inmate number 167, whose name had been long forgotten, exited Regina's office, another figure pretending to blend in and very much failing in doing so, came inside.

Whatever she was expecting the girl to be, it was nothing like the sight in front of her. Emma Swan stood tall and proud before Regina, like her mother had done so many times before. But unlike Snow, Emma carried around her eyes an air of sadness and defeat that was impossible to ignore. And even though legend said Snow was the fairest of them all, nothing could compare to how beautifully broken this young woman was.

She had her father's jaw and her mother's eyes, but the long blonde hair —fitted for a princess, Regina mused, not missing the irony—was something either of her parents portrayed. It flowed freely to rest on strong, defined arms, and Regina could not tear away her gaze from them.

She looked back at Regina with disdain and an uncomfortable feeling pooled in her stomach. She was not used to people looking at her like that. Fear, sure, even loathing, but not the disrespectful insolence that was being thrown at her; she was the Queen, for heaven's sake. The Evil Queen.

Emma grabbed the chair in front of the glass desk by the top rail and dragged it back creating a raucous noise with the legs that made Regina's eardrums reverberate inside her; she didn't react, waiting to see how far the display of childishness would go.

Emma sat with her legs open and rested her elbows on her knees as her hands cradled her face, and gave Regina a full body inspection meaning to appear threatening. Little did Emma know that Regina had dealt with far worse and scarier things than a broody, young teenager. At least she's prettier than Mrs. Lopez, Emma thought.

"So... Ms. Swan. I'm Regina," she said, offering her hand to the teen. Emma lowered her gaze to look at the hand, just to upper it back again and lock it with Regina's dark eyes, her body not moving an inch. Not defeated, the brunette took back her hand and glanced at the file on her desk pretending to read it for the first time.

Regina was nervous as hell. Why, she didn't exactly know. There was something about this situation that made her feel uneasy instead of gloating in her victory as she should have been feeling. Whatever triumph this Emma was supposed to represent in this world, was slowly disappearing as green eyes scrutinized her own dark ones.

She didn't need Emma to talk anyway, she assured herself, she just needed to crush the girl, squash any dreams she still had, and eliminate once and for all any foolish idea she might have about getting her son back once she got out of prison.

This is going to be so easy, she repeated to herself yet again. Then why, she wondered, it felt like climbing a snowy mountain without the appropriate equipment?

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" She asked at Emma's continuing silence. "I'll take that as a no," she muttered to herself. "Well, Miss Swan," she said, standing up. "Apparently you are refusing to cooperate with me. I will file down an uncooperative form, so maybe you will enjoy whatever punishment they have stored for conflictive inmates."

Emma scoffed softly as her eyes unabashedly traveled through the therapist's fine form, as she refused to call her bluff; they didn't punish women who'd just given birth, that much she knew. Her eyes lingered on her breasts a little longer than it would have been considered appropriate, and Emma could feel the satisfaction as the older woman squirmed under her scrutiny.

She may have dealt with treacherous kings, unworthy huntsmen, annoying fairies and even mobs of insubordinate denizens that wanted nothing more than to see her ultimate death, but Regina wasn't used to deal with teenagers, especially moody ones who thought they could defy every authority figure life threw at them. She was on a schedule and she was not about to get defeated in her own game. Emma thought she was being tough? Well... she had no idea who she was rivaling with, and if Regina had to play dirty —well, dirtier—, she would.

"You still don't want to share? Fine. Then I will do the talking and you will listen," she said when Emma didn't fall for her threat. She rounded the desk and approached its front, leaning her backside against it so she was facing Emma close enough so that her message would be received loud and clear. "You were abandoned by your parents eighteen years ago; they cared so little about you, they didn't even bother with an adoption agency, they just left you there on the side of the road, probably hoping you would die before anyone had to deal with you.

"You went with a family for several years, but after a while, they threw you out like trash as soon as they could conceive a kid of their own, and after that, well... let's say little Emma never had a place she could call home." Regina's sneer was in place and her mock was evident. Emma just regarded her with a well-practiced poker face and she couldn't help but wonder, as the vicious words spurted out of her mouth, if this was really what she wanted to do to the girl.

"Was it fun, dear? Changing houses every several months, thinking this would finally be the last one. But it never was, was it? Did you enjoy meeting new people just to lose them over and over again?

"And now look at you. They were right, weren't they? Your biological parents, all your foster parents, they were all right in not wanting you because, really, who would want a pathetic excuse of a woman who got herself pregnant at seventeen and landed in a prison like the delinquent she is. Did you even finish school? Or did you just ran to the first man you met and opened your legs for him?

"I can see the doubt in your face, dear," Regina said, delivering her final blow. "Well, let me put you out of your misery; you took the right decision, because that baby, that little boy you threw away like your parents did with you, he's way better off with someone that's not as inadequate and insufficient as you to be a parent. Because you, child, you are nothing but damaged goods."

Emma opened her mouth but no words were spoken; her lips were trembling and her eyes filled with tears. The room was completely silent except for her heaving.

And finally, she broke down. She cried for all the nights she wished for her parents to come and get her, she cried for all the foster kids she met and never heard of them again. She cried for all the abuse, the abandonment, and she cried for Neal, the bastard that promised her love and a future, but in the end left her like all the other persons in her life before him.

But most of all, she cried for her baby, for that little boy she refused to look at so she wouldn't get too attached.

She cried like she hadn't cried for so many years, she could barely remember the last time she did. She felt it again, the anguish she had thought forgotten, the despair she had back when she was in the foster system. When she was just a lost little girl who didn't matter, a little girl who cried herself to sleep at night because she wanted her parents so bad, and could never understand why they gave her up.

And so she realized: nothing had changed, nothing would ever change. She would forever be unwanted, not really living but going through life half awake, waiting for the next disappointment to come.

Regina didn't do anything but watch. She saw Emma fell apart; she tried to swallow the tight knot forming in her throat as she witnessed the extent of Emma's damage, the pain she had caused this girl in order to get her revenge. She gave a step forward towards Emma and tentatively put her hand on the girl's shoulder, but Emma's reaction was immediate; she jumped up her chair, the force of her movement throwing it to the floor.

"Don't touch me!" She growled, her voice feral and deep, and stomped out of the office slamming the door behind her.

Regina jumped a bit, startled by the noise, as a guard poked her face inside and asked her if everything was alright.

She looked at her watch; Emma's time was almost over and she was now able to go back home.

"Yes," she informed the guard with her fake smile plastered on her face. "Everything is fine," she assured, as she cursed her inability to keep the slight tremble from her voice.

With her hands feeling like she had ten left thumbs, she quickly put her purse together and ran out of the prison, speeding her way back to her son. As soon as she got to her hotel room, she dismissed the nanny and held the sleeping child in her arms, completely unable to stop her own tears from pouring down her eyes.

"I will never let you go. I promise you Henry, You will never be alone," she said to the baby over, and over again, until she managed to believe it herself.

* * *

><p>Emma was late. And Regina was annoyed. Prisons were supposed to enforce punctuality, she mused, as a sharp knock interrupted her thoughts. Finally.<p>

"Come in."

A guard appeared on the crease of the door, dragging a reluctant Emma inside the office. She was holding the blonde forcefully by the arm as the girl tried to wriggle out of her hold. She didn't let her go until she got her to sit on the chair. After a few attempted escapes, Emma just surrendered and settled down with a heavy sigh.

"Caught this one trying to ditch therapy, imagine that," the guard said. "Good luck," she wished, and disappeared with a nod.

Regina was prepared for the silent treatment, and this time she would let the girl be. Yesterday's words had been enough to break the dam of Emma's concealed emotions and nothing good would come out of breaking the child again that soon. She would go along with her initial plan and act like the indifferent therapist she was supposed to portray before delivering the death thrust, the one that would convince her once and for all that Henry was far better beyond her reach.

Regina took a deep breath, patronizing words already forming in her mouth, when Emma beat her to it.

"Don't say another fucking word!" She yelled, getting up the chair and planting her palms on the surface of the desk, her face just inches away from Regina's. "You don't get to judge me. You, with your perfect clothes, perfect hair, perfect make up! I'm sure you have a perfect family waiting for you every evening at home so you can eat your perfect meal in your perfect house. Well, guess what? We are not all as lucky as you! And you have no idea of what my life has been, no idea of what I've been through."

Regina looked at Emma in the eyes, surprised at the teen's outburst. They were red and moist, a little swollen and with dark circles under them. She felt pang of regret and forced herself to suppress it almost immediately. She was here to destroy Emma, not to feel sorry for the girl. Which is why her next statement confused her probably more than it confused Emma, judging by the face she made at it.

"You're right. I was out of line yesterday and I apologize. But my time here is limited and I can't help you if you don't cooperate with me. I would like to start over again, if that's acceptable to you."

Emma just blinked and bit her lower lip, trying to figure the older woman out. She could feel Regina's honesty but there was something, she couldn't quite put her finger on it that made Emma doubt the older woman.

"You want to help me?"

Regina chose her words carefully. "I want to make sure you make the right decisions."

"Okay," Emma said after a minute of consideration. She sat back down, her eyes never leaving Regina's.

"Good," Regina said with a faint smile that actually reached her eyes this time, and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

And Emma? Emma's eyes lighted when she watched those perfect lips curve slightly and she thought how doomed she was, that a simple smile of the older woman made her skin feel like a thousand butterflies had taken refuge in her stomach and were now trying to escape.

"Good," Emma repeated.

A moment passed in silence, each drowned in their own musings until the teen broke the silence.

"So..."

"Yes, Miss Swan?" Regina asked, coming out of her stupor and regarding the young woman with curiosity.

"Aren't you gonna ask me how I'm feeling?"

"Is that what Mrs. Lopez asked you?"

"It was the only thing she asked me," Emma answered, boringly.

"Do you regret giving him up?" Regina blurted before the filter in her head could entirely function.

"Every single day," Emma answered after recovering from the blunt question. "But I did it for his own good. He deserves better than me."

Yes, Regina knew that feeling all too well. And thus, with this newfound empathy, began Regina's journey inside the future 'savior's' life and mind.

Emma was not a talkative person. She was clearly suspicious of everyone around her, always expecting the worst, and she never gave enough information so it couldn't be used against her. Regina had to force the words out of here, and though it was getting a little easier every passing day, she could feel how hard it was for Emma to relinquish every piece of information she told Regina.

The only thing Emma showed with no remorse or pretense was her attraction to Regina. The flirting wasn't blatant, but it was there. And so Regina ignored her own trepidations on how unhealthy this could be —she was not a real therapist after all—and reveled in the attention given to her, keeping the blonde at bay enough so no barriers would be overstepped.

Ironically enough, Regina knew more about the teen than Emma could ever know about herself. She knew she had the knowledge Emma had craved for her whole life and would probably keep craving for till well into adulthood, and every passing day Regina found it harder and harder to her to keep that information concealed from the other woman.

And exactly when did she start thinking about Emma as a woman and not as the foolish teenager she sure was?

A small voice inside Regina—one that she quickly silenced—told her to forget her revenge and get out of there. Emma was damaged enough, there was no way she could ever break the curse it took so much for Regina to enact, and get Henry away from her. But she just couldn't leave Emma; not like that and not at this moment when she was just starting to open up to her after several days of prodding and forcing information out of her.

Stealthily, she had slowly but surely watered the seeds of insecurities in the blonde. She'd make sure Emma had no doubt that she would never be loved, she would always be a failure, her life was worth nothing, and that Henry would be better off without her.

There really was no reason for her to stay any longer. She had what she needed, she had the woman broken even more so than the day before she came; there was really no way Emma could do anything but go through a path of self-destruction that would end in some kind of nasty rehab process, and possibly death. What else could Regina wish for? Her work there was done. She could've grabbed Henry and go back to Storybrooke to live her happily ever after.

Why she didn't do it right then and there was something that gnawed through her mind even after she was out of Phoenix and back in Storybrooke. And even while she was concocting a dose the potion for herself, telling her child a story about a queen and his little prince, she couldn't take Emma out of her mind.

* * *

><p>As the week went by, Emma had grown to cherish her time with the therapist more than anything she'd long for before. It was a strange feeling finding comfort in someone like Regina, who represented every single thing she had grown to despise and distrust. Emma wasn't sure what the other woman's angle was; sometimes she could feel she genuinely wanted to help her, but other times it seems that, even though the words were carefully sugarcoated, the message was nevertheless received: Emma was worthless.<p>

Regardless, Regina was an escape, a connection to the real world she couldn't have any other way, since no one came to visit her in prison. And it didn't hurt she was the most beautiful woman Emma has ever seen.

She shouldn't be a therapist, she thought, she should be a supermodel or an actress. No. She pondered for a while. She should be a queen.

And Emma spent countless hours imagining her therapist with gorgeous gowns and elegant jewels, her arm linked to a handsome prince that would treat her like the most delicate creature. Only the prince would slowly vanished and it was herself Emma could see treating Regina with all sorts of attentions.

"This is stupid," she said to herself, but it didn't prevent her from daydreaming.

Regina represented all Emma was not, all Emma wanted and could never have. And even beneath her tough exterior, Emma could find something in the brunette she related to all too well; she saw her sadness and her loneliness, and she couldn't help but feel that, despite their obvious differences, they were kindred spirits.

So really, loving her was just a matter of survival, of self-preservation, a feeling that Emma never wanted to let go. She wasn't sure she loved Regina, but it sure felt like it. Her logical, grounded self was shouting how absurd it was to be in love with a woman she'd known for just a few days, telling her to get a grip and to forget her childish and ridiculous crush on the woman that didn't give a damn about her.

But...

Butterflies flutter around so wonderfully in her stomach when they were together, she decided to give herself a break and yield to the feeling, however immature she knew it was.

It had been long since Emma had indulged in the pleasure of just feeling for someone and acknowledging without an inch of doubt that she simply threw reason away. She fantasized about Regina constantly, and not just about dresses and parties. She often wondered what her skin would feel like under the palms of her hands, her perfectly coiffed hair mussed after Emma trailed her fingernails down her scalp, bringing her face impossibly close, feeling their breath mingle in a mixture of frenzied passion and unabashed desire.

She felt like the proverbial unmovable object being hit by an unstoppable force. She knew resisting would be ineffective, and so she did the only thing she could do: she surrendered to her fantasy, because being hit by such an unstoppable force, Emma had no other choice but to move with it.

Like every night, Emma let a long breath as she looked at the ceiling of her cell; she was exhausted and couldn't remember the last time she had a full night's sleep. So she let her imagination run wild as violins, parties, queens and soft skin filled her mind.

* * *

><p>As the end of the week arrived, Regina was working on autopilot, signing a new contract with the nanny as she made the phone call. She was already in the middle of the request when she got ahold of the absurdity of the situation, nevertheless going ahead with it.<p>

"I need more time."

"We agreed on a week, Regina, and that's what you got."

"I need. More. Time!"

"You don't have more time."

"Then get it to me!"

"Regina..."

"Don't tell me this menial task is suddenly too much for you, Gold."

"Appealing to my ego, Madam Mayor?"

"Whatever works."

"Fine," he said reluctantly. "Let me see what I can do."

"Thank you", she said petulantly and hung up.

* * *

><p>"You have until the end of the month."<p>

It hasn't been an easy task, almost equal to the procurement of a certain child, but apparently, the psychologist's condition was worse than they initially thought and they were keeping her in the hospital a while longer while they got the test results back from Atlanta, since the CDC was starting to get worried with the possibilities of a pandemic of this unknown disease the poor Mrs. Lopez had contracted.

* * *

><p>"What are your ambitions, Miss Swan?"<p>

"My what?"

"Ambitions, expectations. What will you do with your life when you get out of this wonderful place?"

"Um... I never really thought about it," Emma lied. Not only she thought about it every single day, but she dreaded the day she got out of prison. What would she do? She had no talent and she wasn't good at anything in particular, and even if she managed to get admitted to college, there was no way she could pay for it or even get a loan.

"What do you think your options are, dear?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to study? Work?" And then she just asked what had been on her mind since the beginning. "Are you planning on finding your son?"

Emma took a deep breath before answering.

"I think about it, you know. Every day I think about getting out of this place and finding him and taking him with me."

Regina's body tensed and her mind started working at a hundred miles per hour as all her fears came true with the blonde's confession.

"I just... It fucking hurts so much, you know? I feel a little bit of myself dying every day I'm away from him and yet... and yet I know I did the right thing. At least I think I did because what if he never gets adopted? What if he ends up in a foster home? What if..." She sighed, running her hands through her messy hair. "But I signed the papers for a closed adoption, I gave up any rights I could have on him."

Regina inhaled and exhaled slowly, pushing her chair and getting to her feet; she walked to the window and leaned her body against the wall. She could not allow Emma to even consider going after his son; this was the last card under her sleeve. She stared at the sunny day outside her tiny office and delivered the information. "I found him."

"What?" Emma said, standing up from her chair and walking towards Regina.

"I found him, Miss Swan. He's fine. In fact, he's more than fine, he's perfect, and with a family that loves him very much."

"Really?" Emma asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Regina shifted her body so she could face Emma and look at her in the eyes as she said this. "Yes, Emma. You have my promise he is fine."

Emma's eyes watered and she let out a dry sob as she threw her arms around Regina, bringing their bodies together in a tight embrace. Regina jumped slightly at the contact, feeling a jolt of electricity through her body. But she stood still, her hands hanging on her sides, allowing the younger woman to continue the contact, as she felt completely powerless to pull away from Emma.

Her pulse quickened as she felt warm breath caressing her skin along with soft lips connecting with her neck, and she was momentarily numb by the other woman's sudden display of affection.

Emma felt Regina's body get rigid and slowly relaxing after a moment, their bodies melting together in a soothing embrace.

"Thank you," Emma whispered and Regina felt, more than heard, those lips form the words against her neck. She felt the moisture of Emma's tears merging with the thin sheen of perspiration cause by the hot afternoon, and felt Emma boldly leaving a trail of kisses across Regina's neck, her jaw, her cheek.

And finally, finally connecting with Regina's lips, brushing them oh, so softly. Her reaction was immediate as she tried to shove the girl away from her.

"Wh—" But Regina's mind was in such a state of haze, she was incapable of forming any coherent thought. Emma pressed her lips back against Regina's, shoving her against the wall, and this time, this time Regina did nothing to stop her assailant.

Regina's eyes fluttered and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up in alert; her breathing was becoming labored and her chest heaved with every gasp of air she tried to catch. She felt electricity roaming through her body at their lips joining together in a heated kiss, igniting Regina's every cell.

Emma's lips were soft and moistened, and Regina was absolutely powerless to do anything other than return the kiss; she was rendered completely useless for anything more than delving into the feeling and surrendering to her body's involuntary reaction.

Emma pulled back and looked directly into Regina's eyes, her pupils almost completely dilated, and smiled shyly as her tears poured freely down her cheeks. Dismissing Regina's shocked expression, she struck again, and lurched, this time with more force, as she attached her lips back to the brunette's.

When their lips joined again in delicious, slick friction, Emma let out a soft sob that shocked Regina out of her trance, not enough for her to halt completely, but enough to stop moving her lips and tongue. "Emma, what are you doing?" she asked against soft lips, never stopping the contact.

But she just ignored Regina's question, and taking advantage of the other woman's slightly parted mouth, she extended her tongue until it made contact with plump lips, asking again for permission. She buried her hands in dark tresses as she had thought about so many times before, holding Regina's head firmly and forcing her face closer to her, leaving her no option but to comply with the silent requirement, and finally allowing the younger woman to thrust her tongue fully into her mouth.

Regina was so hypnotized by Emma's lips against her own, she didn't registered her own hands climbing up Emma's hip and attaching to her waist, bringing the two of them impossibly together. Her own body reacted deliciously to the contact, sending electric shocks through her skin and stimulating her beyond anything imaginable. She let the kiss consume her and take away all the sanity as the ecstasy built within her, leaving her completely breathless.

Emma's eagerness made the kiss sloppy and wet, and possibly the best Regina had ever had since... hell, since forever. The girl's enthusiasm, matched only by Regina's arousal, gave her infinite courage to bite and nibble plump lips as the older woman's soft moans became more labored.

A particular hard bite followed by a deep, loud moan broke the spell.

"Miss Swan!" Regina said. She forced Emma away from her, this time succeeding.

Emma's eyes fluttered attempting to regain her focus and she regarded the older woman with confusion written all over her face. Emma's gaze came back and forth from Regina's lips to her eyes and her clouded judgment prevented her from fully understanding why they had stopped.

"We can't do this!" Regina said, haze clearing away.

"Why not?" she asked genuinely, lunging herself forward yet again.

"Miss Swan, please. That's enough," she said. Her chest was still heaving heavily as her raised arms prevented Emma's further advance. She forced the girl away from her with a blunt shove.

"I knew it," Emma said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're just like all the others, aren't you? What, I'm not good enough to fit in your flawless life? Fuck you, Regina."

She turned around and exited the office, leaving Regina partly angry at her, but party confused by the unexpected turn of events. And also just a little bit aroused. Or very aroused, if she was completely honest. She was supposed to be destroying this girl, not cavorting with her, and how could she have let things spin out of control in such an uncouth manner was beyond her comprehension.

Even though, it took all of five seconds for her to decide to go after Emma, but she was already out of her sight. It took her several wrong turns, a few inquiries and equal number of threats to get to Emma's cell. She saw the lump figure over the bed, with her back to the bars of the cell, and after a few fake smiles and more than a few bills, the guard opened the cell and let Regina inside, closing it behind the therapist.

The now familiar click of her heels resounded through the cell as she approached the simple bed where Emma laid still, hoping for the older woman to just go away. Not being one with luck, Emma felt Regina tentatively put a hand on her shoulder; she promptly shrugged it off and buried her face deeper on the pillow, away from the brunette.

Emma felt the bed dip under the weight of Regina sitting next to her, and she moved as far away as the small bed allowed, being now trapped between the wall and the woman she never wanted to see again.

Regina sighed deeply and the words came out as a sweet caress. For a moment, Emma hated herself for still liking this woman more than it was healthy.

"I don't think you are not good enough for me, Emma. My situation is... complicated." Not knowing what else to say, she remained silent, expecting some kind of reaction, any reaction, from the other woman. After several minutes of not receiving any kind of response, she prompted the guard to open the cell and let her out.

* * *

><p>Sleep eluded Regina that night, as it had become a permanent in her days in that unbearably warm city. What was she doing? She didn't owe any explanation to anybody, least of all to Snow White's scoundrel daughter. And the eternal question that didn't leave her mind since that afternoon gnawed at her: why did Emma's rejection sting her so much?<p>

She had done everything in her power to make her feel unwanted and unworthy, and ironically, she was the one feeling like that, and that nagging feeling she now recognized as regret—and a hint of guilt—was simply not leaving her alone.

She tossed and turned, yet again, until despair took over her. Swiftly, she approached the cradle where Henry was sleeping and lifted his sleeping son, hugging him hard against her body—another very common reaction from her these days—she just couldn't let go of his son. Watching Emma shed tears for him moved something deep inside her, a protectiveness instinct she thought long gone.

It was getting harder and harder to leave him every morning and she just wished she could made up her mind and go back to Storybrooke, where her perfectly tailored town was eagerly waiting for her return.

This situation had already extended long enough, and it was getting far too convoluted for Regina's liking. And so, she made a decision. She would leave the next day and she would make sure neither her nor Emma had the slightest chance of meeting each other again.

With that though in her mind, she left the baby in his cradle and reached the bag tucked inside the closet. Opening it, she carefully unwrapped a couple of sweaters she had there, revealing a vial filled with dark liquid. She placed the vial delicately inside her purse, covering it so no harm would come to it.

* * *

><p>The next morning, she stopped by the supermarket on her way to prison, and made a small purchase she knew would make the blonde happy. Once in her office, she cancelled all the appointments of the day and asked the guard to bring Emma Swan to her immediately.<p>

Henry was in a corner of the therapist's office, safely tucked inside his baby basket and concealed from plain view, and Regina knew she still had a couple of hours until she needed to feed him again.

She reached her purse and clutched the vial; before she could change her mind, she opened the bottle of soda she got earlier and managed to smuggle inside the prison, and dropped its content inside. She was just closing it and putting the bottle away to surprise Emma when, without warning, the door of her office opened and the familiar mess of blonde locks made its appearance. This time Emma sat down without offering any resistance, and the satisfaction Regina should've felt for her subdued attitude didn't quite reached her.

"Miss Swan," Regina started after a while of being offered the silent treatment once again. If Emma found weird that they were having their appointment early in the morning instead of their usual afternoon one, she said nothing about it, which grated Regina's nerves to no end. "My contract expired. This is my last day."

Emma's heart began racing the second she heard the words, and her whole body tensed in alarm. She had been preparing herself for the day the therapist had to go away, but she didn't expect it to actually hurt that much.

She didn't expect for Regina to actually leave.

Funny, she thought; her entire life should've prepared her for this moment, being it nothing but the sum of disappointments, frustrations and heartbreaks. She tried to keep the tears at bay and she bit her tongue so she wouldn't spill all the verbal diarrhea she wanted to throw at the brunette —at the world—because what good would it do? Tears and curses didn't change the world, actions did. And Regina was leaving.

She let out a dry chuckle. "Of course you are."

"Emma," she tried again. "You knew this was just temporary until Mrs. Lopez could return to her job. I need to go back to Stor—to my—"

"Yes, Regina, I knew you would end up abandoning me like every other person in my life. Don't worry, I didn't expect anything to be different this time."

"Emma, I do—"

"Is that all? Because I have a lot to do," she said as she stood up and walked to the door.

"No, Miss Swan, that's not all, and frankly, you are irritating me quite a lot," Regina answered, standing up and approaching the blonde; her eyes on fire and her voice firm.

"What?" Emma turned around in her feet, door handle still in her hand.

"I am not leaving you, you understand? I am not abandoning you, I am merely going back to my life because I don't belong here. This is not my job and it was never meant to be permanent. So no, not everything revolves around hurting you or forsaking you, and if you took just a minute to think about something other than your poor suffering self, you would se—"

Emma moved so fast, Regina didn't have time to register what was happening when she was spun around and pressed against the door, trapped between it and the other woman's warm body. Emma stopped millimeters away from Regina's mouth, both breathing the same air for just a fraction of a moment. Regina opened her mouth to protest, but Emma was quicker as she plunged forward, taking advantage of the older woman's parted lips, and smashed their lips together.

Regina gasped, which quickly turned into a soft moan while Emma let herself be consumed by hate, lust, love, despise, despair and everything this woman evoked on her. She caught Regina's lower lips between her teeth and nibbled it softly before her tongue found way past is, delving deeper into the brunette's mouth.

Regina could hear her own hammering heart thrashing against her ribcage so hard it threatened to deafen her. The feeling of Emma's mouth against hers was too exquisite to even try to put down in words, and just as easily as their lips came together, she forgot herself and surrendered to the hurricane that was Emma Swan.

All that existed was her and only her. The sensation growing inside Regina invaded her in the purest way, filling her from head to toes, until everything was just Emma, Emma, Emma, her sinful taste and perfect skin, her long, beautiful hair, her warm breath and beautiful green eyes.

Sensing the pattern of surrender that came when the older woman failed to react on time, Emma took advantage of the situation once again and grabbed Regina's wrists to pin them against the door, just above her head. Regina's immediate reaction was to fight against it, but it was already too late, Emma had her trapped with no escape.

Once the blonde was sure of Regina's almost compliance with the silent request of obedience, Emma's hands trailed down her arms reaching her breasts; she grazed them eliciting a soft moan from the older woman, delving immediately in a much stronger, more secure touch.

Regina slowly put her arms down and tangled her hands in blonde tresses, fisting them hard in a possessive grip. In a swift motion, regaining her upper hand, she turned Emma around abandoning her mouth, and buried her face against her neck. Regina's lips grazed Emma's neck softly, taking her time to smell and feel the blonde's soft skin, leaving a trail of soft, almost tender kisses going up to her jaw and cheek, until she reached the corner of the blonde's mouth, where she rested her lips until she felt both their breathings were back to a normal pace.

"Emma," she said, her voice barely audible. Regina let out a long sigh that caressed Emma's cheek and made her shiver. She pulled back and brushed away a blonde lock from Emma's flushed face, smiling sadly at her. Emma returned the smile understanding the brunette's refusal to carry on.

Emma wanted to say something that conveyed all that she was feeling at the moment but she was afraid to break the magical moment that would be the last she'd get to have with Regina. Words were trying to form in her mind when a soft coo made her thinking stop abruptly.

Leaving Regina behind, she pushed herself off the wall and followed the sound to the back of Regina's office, where she was greeted by a bundle of blankets and pink skin.

Regina didn't move from her spot facing the wall and closed her eyes waiting for the blow. Instead, all she heard was Emma gushing over the baby basket and Henry babbling back.

"And who's this bundle of joy?" Emma asked kneeling in front of the baby. "Can I?" She said, turning to Regina, who still had her back to Emma.

Turning slowly and watching Emma's earnest gaze, she nodded once. Still, her eyes opened wide in fear when she saw what in her mind was a baby lifting another baby, and ran to Emma's side to prevent her from dropping the little boy.

"Hey there, kid, aren't you the cutest thing?" Emma's tears were flowing freely down her cheeks, forming a small puddle on the boy's furry overalls. She couldn't stop feeling happy and sad at the same time, having a little baby in her arms.

"Emma, meet Henry, the light of my life."

"Regina, he's amazing. Aren't you, squirt?"

Regina's mind was blank as she watched mother and son interact. Henry fitted perfectly in Emma's arms, his eyes now wide open, trying with his little hands to catch the tresses of blonde hair hovering above him. She felt her eyes burn as tears threatened to fall while she watched Emma unable to contain her own.

"Regina?" Emma asked, sniffling while her eyes lightened in hope. "How old is he?"

"Almost 10 months," she lied quickly. "He's quite small for his age, but the pediatrician assures me he will grow soon enough."

"Oh," she said, not hiding her disappointment. "He's beautiful, Regina." The flame of hope extinguishing from her eyes and she silently berated herself for believing even for the smallest fraction of a moment that this little boy was—it didn't matter, anyway. Life wouldn't be so forgiving. Not with her.

"Come on," Regina said, taking the baby from her arms. "We don't have much time."

Emma let the baby go reluctantly with her eyes still tear-laden and her cheeks moistened with tear tracks. Sniffling and wiping her face with the back of her hands with the grace of a newborn chimpanzee, she looked like a teenager again, and Regina had to force herself to look away before she did something stupid, like taking the girl with her and making up for Emma's less than ideal childhood, for which Regina was starting to feel somewhat responsible.

She sat back in her chair after putting Henry safely away in his basket, and reached under the desk. "I have something for you," she informed, proudly showing the teen the bottle she's ben holding before in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. "You've been asking for one for quite some time."

"You got me a Dr. Pepper?" Emma squealed with her eyes open wide, taking the bottle in her hands. "Why?"

"Consider it a farewell gift, dear."

"Well, Doctor Mills", she said dragging the title as she took the soda. "If you really want to give me a present I won't forget, then we could... you know... finish what we started." Emma wiggled her eyebrows in what she thought was a suggestive way.

"As cute as your attempted flirtation may be, Miss Swan, I think we've already established that is not going to happen," Regina said, not bothering to conceal her smile this time,

"Fine, but it's totally your loss, lady."

"You know," she said in a conspiratorial tone. "This is not any soda, Emma, this is a magical soda. It has an ancient potion, one that will make you forget your worries, your troubles, your fears. And with those gone, Emma, you can finally be free."

She smiled at Regina wanting with all her might for her words to be true, that she would be able to drink a magical potion that will bring her peace and rest. And why not? After all, Regina was magical to Emma; if anyone could pull it off, it would be her.

"Drink up, child, you know you can't take it with you to your cell."

She eyed the bottle and nestled it in her hands for a moment, looking intently at Regina. "Good bye, Regina. I'll never forget you."

"I'm afraid you will, Miss Swan," she said, sadly. "Now drink." Before Emma could take the bottle to her mouth, Regina stood up and gave her a small farewell kiss on the lips.

Emma's eyes illuminated and she drank the soda in several big sips and almost choking on it, not wanting to waste one single drop of her favorite beverage before she was forced back to her cell.

When she drank the last drop, not a second before, Regina stood up, grabbed the baby basket, and exited the office, leaving Emma behind without a glance back.

Emma shook her head, confused as she felt a cold wave go through her body, with an empty bottle of soda in her hands she didn't remember drinking. She saw the temp therapist's body walking and wondered, for the hundredth time, if the emptiness she was now used to would ever leave her.

The End


End file.
